Letters to the Editor Newsday An Hour Ago Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. AP Photo – THE EDITOR: As war rages in the Middle East, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say as the mass murder of Palestinian civilians continue in the Middle East, we are left to wonder when will it all end. Zionist Israel, supported by the US and the UK, continue to commit genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza via carpet bombing and starvation – for over a year. The Israelis have proceeded in more recent times to engage in ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza and have expanded their illegal settlements in the West Bank, killing many in the process. They have attacked Lebanon but, being weak fighters on the ground and not having the stomach for Hezbollah’s missiles falling on Tel Aviv, the Zionists quickly agreed to a ceasefire. Now they are taking advantage of...

News Corey Connelly 5 Minutes Ago THA Minority Leader Kelvon Morris – WITH just days to go before Christmas, some 15 workers from a unit at the THA Division of Settlements, Public Utilities and Rural Development are reportedly being sent home. Minority Leader Kelvon Morris spoke about the issue during a news conference at his office in Scarborough, Tobago, on December 20. He told reporters, “I understand that at the Division of Settlements, the administrator would have kept a meeting on the instructions of the secretary indicating that a unit that has been there for years, as long as I know the Division of Settlements, providing yeoman service, support services, that just before the Christmas season they are being told that their services will no longer be required.” What is even more hurtful, Morris said, is that the notice does not even allow the workers three months to prepare themselves...

Editorial Newsday 3 Hrs Ago Attorney General Reginald Armour – Faith Ayoung GOVERNMENT has been left with more than just egg on its face after bungling the question of a $25,000 savings cap for pensioners. Its recent actions and purported explanations have needlessly antagonised the population, shaken confidence in the future of hundreds of thousands of pensions, and created an image of an error-prone administration. Only recently did a minister give wrong overrun figures relating to an airport project and admitted to inaccurate Treasury revenues. Speaking volumes is the inauspicious way the Senior Citizens’ Pension and Public Assistance Bill, 2024, was introduced to the country. On December 9, the House of Representatives was about to adjourn after discussions on Tobago autonomy and the Elections and Boundaries Commission. Then the clerk announced a bill. The legislation, which would have normally been introduced earlier in the sitting, did not appear on the...

Business Newsday Reporter 2 Hrs Ago Mark St Hill, CEO of CIBC Caribbean. – CIBC Caribbean Bank Ltd has reported a net income of $277.5 million for the period ended October 31. This represents a $7.6 million or three per cent increase from the previous year’s net income of $269.9 million. In its consolidated financial statements, published on the TT Stock Exchange website, CIBC Caribbean said this year’s record financial performance has been positively impacted by solid performing loan growth, higher US interest margins and a favourable provision for credit losses. The adjusted net income for this year was $285.2 million, after excluding net expenses of $7.7 million related to the previously announced divestitures, compared with adjusted net income of $267 million at the end of 2023. “2024 marked the completion of a significant transformation programme which involved the rationalisation and consolidation of business lines and markets along with large...

News Gregory Mc Burnie An Hour Ago Zaheer Samuel, 14, has been released by his abductors. – TEENAGER Zaheer Samuel has been released by his abductors. His father William confirmed this to Newsday at 12.20 am on December 19. Newsday understands that the 14-year-old schoolboy, who was snatched and forced into a car early on Wednesday morning, was released by his abductors and later taken to the Arima District Hospital by police for a medical check-up. He was abducted at the family business, SS Plant and Garden Shop off the Eastern Main Road in St Augustine. There will be further updates when more information on this developing story comes to hand. >

News Clint Chan Tack 14 Minutes Ago Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne during a media conference in 2023. – File photo by Ayanna Kinsale MINISTER in the Ministry of Education and D’Abadie/O’Meara MP Lisa Morris-Julian will be given a state-assisted funeral. Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne told Newsday this on December 18. Morris-Julian and two of her children – Jesiah, six, and Xianne, 25 – died in a fire at their home on Farfan Street, Arima, on December 16. In a WhatsApp message, Browne said, “Under the approval of the Cabinet, the Ministry of Foreign and Caricom Affairs has engaged with the family of the late MP, the Honourable Lisa Morris-Julian, and support is being extended by way of a state-assisted funeral.” He explained, “This entails the state contributing meaningfully to the funeral costs, as well as the provision of support with planning and...

Editorial Newsday 4 Hrs Ago David West. FILE PHOTO – THE REAPPOINTMENT of David West on December 13 as director of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) for a third consecutive term sends the wrong signal. Mr West has been the director for a decade. That alone does not disqualify him. However, ten years is a long time. The PCA is an independent body. Its sensitive functions include investigation of serious police misconduct. Yet, police-involved killings have remained too frequent, without a commensurate sense of accountability which his office seeks. The requirement for body cameras has not been effectively enforced by the police which West has campaigned for but again, enforcement falls on the commissioner. > The politics behind his office may be at the heart of the limits not only Mr West, but any officeholder, faces to go beyond recommendations to investigate, discipline and prosecute police. The government and the...

Business Tia-Marie Lander 2 Hrs Ago Foster Cummings, Minister of Youth Development and national Service. – File photo MINISTER of Youth Development and National Service (MYDNS) Foster Cummings, while visibly emotional owing to the death on December 16 of his friend and colleague Lisa Morris-Julian, delivered remarks of encouragement to recipients at a grant distribution ceremony on December 17. Morris-Julian, who tragically died in a house fire, was his Cabinet colleague and served as member of parliament for D’Abadie/O’Meara and was a minister in the Ministry of Education. MYDNS in collaboration with the National Entrepreneurship Development Company Ltd (Nedco) hosted its Micro and Small Business Grant Scheme distribution ceremony at the Government Campus Plaza in Port of Spain. The event celebrated the achievements of budding entrepreneurs who were awarded grants to kickstart or expand their businesses. The Micro and Small Business Start-Up Grant, headed by MYDNS and administered by Nedco,...

News Paula Lindo 59 Minutes Ago Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, left, and Minister in the Education Ministry Lisa Morris-Julian at the ministry in Port of Spain in this 2020 file photo. The Education Ministry has said its head offices – Tower A and B, St Vincent Street, Port of Spain – and all district offices will be closed to the public from noon on December 17. A memorial service takes place at 1 pm at the ministry. In a post on social media, the ministry said the decision was made to allow staff time for reflection and personal support during this difficult period. The notice came a day after the tragic death of Minister in the Education Ministry Lisa Morris-Julian and two of her children. The ministry said it would resume normal operations at 8 am on December 18.

Sports Roneil Walcott 6 Hrs Ago New Cricket West Indies CEO Chris Dehring. – Photo courtesy CWI Media SportsMax founder Chris Dehring has been appointed the new CEO of Cricket West Indies (CWI). CWI made the announcement on December 16. As the former manager and director of the 2007 International Cricket Council World Cup held in the Caribbean, Dehring is no stranger to roles of high managerial importance in West Indies cricket. “A visionary leader with an extraordinary track record in finance, sports management, media, and telecommunications, Dehring is uniquely positioned to steer CWI into a bold new chapter of growth and development,” a CWI media release said. The release said Dehring was chosen from a competitive pool of over 50 candidates from Afghanistan, Australia, Afghanistan, Europe, India and the Caribbean region. > “Dehring’s appointment is the culmination of a meticulous, meritocratic process which included independent experts. His selection reflects...